Harry Potter and the Curse of the Moon
by a-demigods-mind-palace
Summary: After the second Wizarding war a new battle emerges. Dozens of teenagers are bitten every full moon, all half-bloods. After the Chosen One is bitten, and London is attacked during the full moon, it becomes clear that the war is far from over.


Ginny woke to a phone ringing. She groaned, wanting to sink back into the brilliant dream she had been having... she had been with an old friend...

"Upside, inside out she's livin la vida loca..." she grabbed blindly for her phone on her nightstand, checked who it was, and answered it with a sigh.

"This better be good, Hermione." she growled into the phone.

"It is, I promise!" she sounded breathless. "I just got a phone call from Harry." Ginny gasped, wide awake, and pulled off her covers.

"What?!" Harry hadn't been heard from in about five months. He had left the Burrow in the middle of the night in early June. They had received only one letter from him a month later, telling him that he was living in London, and that he couldn't speak to any of them again.

"I know!" Hermione cried from the other end, "I think it was by accident.. he doesn't have my number... but it was him, I know it!"

"Can you trace back the call?" Ginny asked, rushing around her small apartment, pulling on a coat, and putting on shoes clumsily.

"Yeah! Listen, Ron and I are going to Apparate into London first thing later this morning, we need to know what's going on!" she gave her an address, and Ginny hurriedly hung up. The flat complex was only a few blocks away- Harry had been only blocks away from her new flat! A million thoughts ran through her head as she caught a cab outside of her flat. How had she never ran into him in London! Especially that she had walked past his flat a few times in the last month. Would it actually be him, or was Hermione just over excited? If it really was him how would he react when he saw her? These thoughts carried her into the building, but it was up to her to figure out where the hell he was. The lower floor, which was basically just a few chairs, a few doors leading off to stairs, and three elevators, were empty other than a girl with heavy piercings banging her head to heavy rock that Ginny could hear feet away, and leaning over a file with papers spilling out. Well, she was desperate, so Ginny nervously tapped on the girl's shoulder. The woman looked up, with a shocked expression on her thin, pale face, and took an earbud out of her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know which apartment Harry Potter lives in?" Great, she sounded like the average stalker. The woman nodded quickly, but her black eyebrows had shot up in confusion.

"Yeah... who're you?"

"I'm an old friend." The woman studied her for a moment or so more with brilliantly blue eyes, and after a moment she gave a curt nod.

"He's on the fourth floor, apartment 2321 A."

"Thank you!" Ginny cried, and decided that she had better use the elevator. It was surprisingly quick, and when she stepped in, the doors closed, and a voice came from nowhere.

"Welcome to Crain's Wizard and Witches Complex. Where is your destination?" it was a woman's voice.

"Uh... floor 4?" the elevator lurched, and only a few seconds later, it stopped again.

"Thank you, and have a magical day!" The voice had turned to a deep voice that sounded slightly terrifying. Ginny ignored this, and began down the long hall of rooms. The building seemed to be bigger on the inside.

"I don't how I got the number!" A male's voice cried from the door nearest to her, faintly muffled by the wood.

"Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to explain this?" it was a familiar voice this time. Harry's, though strained from anger. Ginny opened the door, and the two men stopped arguing.

The tallest had very thick, black hair, which was a mess. He had squared off glasses with black frames, and the bright green eyes behind the lenses were flashing with anger. He was very tall, maybe a bit shorter than Ron, and although skinny, looked fit. Harry.

"Ginny..." his voice sounded broken. The man opposite of him, who had shockingly blond hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes, looked towards her, his mouth gaping open.

"Where," she threw her cell phone at him, "THE-HELL-HAVE-YOU-BEEN?" she said each word with a hit, but was soon restrained by the man with the blond man.

"Not a good idea, sweetheart." he whispered, and Ginny dug her elbow into his stomach.

"Let her go!" Harry cried, and the man let her go reluctantly. Ginny paused considering Harry again. He was very pale, it wasn't just the light, and there was a long, thin scar going from his nose, through his lips, and to the bottom of his chin. "Ginny... I am so, so sorry."

"Sorry? A year and a half and you're sorry?" She wanted to hit him again, but something held her back, and it wasn't a man this time.

"I know, I'm a git, I-"

"Hell yes you are! We didn't know where you were, everyone was frantic!" Harry frowned.

"I told you all I was in London."

"Yeah, in a letter that was about three sentences long, a month after you left the Burrow in the middle of the night! How the hell could you do that? Mum thought that you had gone off and got yourself killed again, we had all just lost Fred, and now we lost you!" she shouted. Harry stood there, letting her yell, he didn't object, or show any change of emotion at all. In fact, he looked relieved.

"So everyone's okay?" he asked quietly. Ginny took deep breaths and ran a hand through her messy hair.

"Yes... Harry, please, what happened?" she sighed. Harry exchanged looks with the man behind her, and nodded curtly.

"Sit down, this might take a while." Ginny looked reluctantly at the two men for a moment, but decided it was best that she obey, and collapsed into the light blue armchair on the other side of the room.

"Marcus, go tell Brooke that I won't be able to make it to training later this morning." the white haired man- Marcus- nodded, clapped Harry on the back, and left to the hall. Harry sat on the couch across from her.

"Alright... if I tell you, I don't want you to interrupt, or ask questions until I stop, okay?" he asked, looking tired. Ginny gave a microscopic nod. "Okay. I left the Burrow, thinking that it would make everything better. I couldn't stand watching all of you grieve over Fred when I could have saved him, so I went out to London, not knowing why the hell I was there, but there was some weird feeling... I dunno. I met an Auror within a few hours of being there- they told me that I had a chance to join the Auror Department if I wanted to, they recognized me or something. I said yes, I needed to start over. Everyone in this building are either Aurors, or training, or the families of the Aurors. They're from all over the world, maybe a few hundred or so of us at the moment. I met Marcus, and I moved in with him here. I trained for a month before deciding that I wanted this to be permanent. If I stayed away, maybe all of your lives would return back to normal. So I trained. And I missed you all so much, I considered quitting, but I couldn't. About five weeks ago, I was seriously considering going back to see you all. But I couldn't, not after the accident.

"Brooke and I were running patrol in an old city in Canada, and we stayed out a bit later than intended. I didn't know that it was a full moon... Brooke and I were attacked. This was probably about a month ago."

Ginny felt dumbstruck... again a million thoughts had been rushing through her head, but they stopped when he had mentioned the full moon. That was tonight, so he technically had a day… it was only seven in the morning.

"Attacked?" her voice sounded far away.

"Yep. Took a nice big bite right out of my shoulder," he moved his shirt aside to reveal several marks across his shoulder... but it couldn't be possible. He smiled sadly.

"So are you a werewolf?"

"It seems like it. I wish that Remus was still around so I could ask him some questions, but at least I know some other werewolves, they've been helping me out." Ginny stood up, raced to the opposite couch, and hugged him gently. Harry seemed hesitant to react at first, but put his arms around Ginny, hugging her as though he never intended to let go.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ginny whispered, breaking away from him.

"I've felt worst thing is basically the foreboding of the entire thing, though."

"Is there anything I can do?" Ginny asked.

"I honestly can't think of anything." Harry replied quietly. "Look, if you talk to Ron and Hermione, tell them I'll have to talk to them over the phone or the day after tomorrow. Today won't be pleasant under any circumstances, and tomorrow..." he looked slightly nervous. "I don't know what condition I'll be in."

"I can call them right now. I'll tell them everything, and if you want you can talk to them afterwards." Ginny considered. Harry looked hesitant for a moment, but seemed to decide quickly, as he gave a small nod.

Ginny dialed Hermione's number, which, thankfully picked up. She then explained everything that had happened under the watchful eye of Harry.

Hermione was sobbing when Ginny handed the phone over to Harry.

"Hey, 'Mione... yeah, I missed you alot, too... I promise I'll see you really soon... yeah, of course..." he turned a light shade of green, dropped the phone, and ran into the kitchen, a hand clamped over his mouth. Ginny picked up the phone, and grimaced as she watched Harry retch into the sink.

"You'll have to wait to talk to him. 'Mione. He's really ill."

"Oh, Merlin! Tell him that Ron and I will try to see him later this morning, and that we hope he feels better!" Hermione nearly shouted from the other end.

"Yeah, I will." Ginny replied, flipping the phone shut, and ran over to the kitchen, where Harry was leaning over the sink, taking deep breaths.

"Blimey," he sighed. "I feel horrible." He was now clammy and shaking slightly.

"Do you want me to find Marcus?" Ginny asked quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder- he was burning up.

"Nah, he should be with Brooke," he replied, wiping an arm over his eyes.

"Isn't Brooke your girlfriend?" Ginny asked, nonplussed. Harry smiled weakly.

"No, my partner in training. Marcus is Brooke's boyfriend." he replied quietly.

"Look, Harry, you're ill. I can't just leave you here alone." Harry rose a brow.

"I won't be able to convince you to leave, will I?"

"Nope," Ginny answered, "Look, as long as you took your wolfsbane potion, you aren't any harm to me."

"You aren't staying until night, Ginny. I don't want to hurt you, and you don't need to see me like that." Harry replied seriously.

"Fine. If I can stay to help you today, I'll leave tonight," she huffed. "Now go lie down, you look like you're going to pass out." Harry nodded, but didn't move.

"Gin," she jumped at the use of her old nick name... "Thanks."

An hour later, Ginny was sitting on the chair closest to the couch where Harry was lying, watching an old Muggle movie. He looked thoughtful, paused the movie with a wave of his wand, and looked up at Ginny.

"Aren't you going to miss work?" he asked quietly.

"Nah," Ginny replied, "It's Thursday, I train Monday through Wednesday at the moment... I'm being considered to join the Holyhead Harpies," she replied with a smile.

"Really? That's amazing, Ginny, I knew you had it in you," He sounded sincere. "Are you living in London too?"

"Yeah, only a few miles away. I just moved in about a month ago, after school started. I like the city, despite the rain."

"Well, that's London for you," Harry replied. "Was your Mum upset that you weren't going back to Hogwarts?"

"You could say that," smirked Ginny. "She was raging for about a week,but I guess she reazlied that there was no chance of convinving me otherwise. Hermione took her Newts, so she's trying to get a job in the Ministry." There was a bit of silence only interrupted by only the hum of the flat and muffled voices and sounds from across the building.

""Do you have a boyfriend?" Harry asked quickly. Ginny felt heat rise in her cheeks. "I'm sorry, that's none of my buisness," Harry added quickly, looking rather abashed.

"No, it's okay," Ginny intervened. "No, I don't."

"What about Hermione and Ron? Are they together?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, it's disgusting," Ginny made a gagging motion, and shook her head. "They're in Austrailia visiting Hermione's parents. They have their memories back, but apparently they quite like it there. Ron works at the joke shop with George. I know it wasn't his ideal career, but Percy volunteered to help... but can you imagine Percy running a joke shop? That was a rhetorical question," she added with a smile.

"What's he doing now?"

"I think he moved over to America for a few months, helping with the Ministry there. Apparently it went to shit during the war.. is that why there are so many witches and wizards here in London?" inquired Ginny.

"Partially. People are coming because of the attacks, too."

"The werewolf attacks?" Ginny asked quietly.

Harry nodded. "That was part of the reason I was angry that you came here. Marcus reckons there are about thirty or so people in the building who were attacked. It's really unsafe, especially around this time of the month."

"So there are thirty or so other people in here going through the same thing you are? Like the illness and all that?"

"Not necessarily. I met a few who had been changing for years, but seemed okay. Lupin was all banged up because he attacked himself when he changed a lot as a kid. Apparently the more times you change, the better you can handle it. Plus the overall bad feeling before starts to ease too. Lupin only seemed to be a bit rash, moody, and tired. This time is supposed to be the worst, but everyone has methods of dealing with it."

A question bubbled up in Ginny's head.

"Harry, I know you're taking Wolfsbane potion, but you aren't changing here, are you?"

"No, they set up a place in the city so that no one else would be hurt, and so that we can keep our condition safe from the Ministry. I haven't been there, but I've heard things... doesn't exactly sound pleasant. I'm supposed to check in there around 5:00...They give everyone Wolfsbane potion so you're in your own mind the entire time, but when younger children are bitten, and sometimes even adults, they might die over the night. And having all of those people who are all scared and not feeling their best... it's not a good idea. Kingsley's trying to work through the Anti-Werewolf legislation thing going on, but so far, he's helped with jobs. People are starting to notice things, though, apparently the number of people infected has nearly doubled over the last decade. It's not looking pretty." Harry replied, his eyes closed.

"You should probably get some rest. I'm going to go out and get something to eat, I'll leave my number on the coffee table, okay? If you need anything, call." Harry nodded, but didn't open his eyes. Ginny put back on her jacket and shoes, and, with one last look at the sick looking teenager on the couch, left.

She didn't want to leave Harry alone, especially when he was so helpless and ill. But her head was spinning. Only a few hours before, she had no idea that where he was, and now that she did... he was a werewolf, and there was a chance that he wouldn't make it for another 24 hours.

Don't think that, Ginny chided herself, biting into a bagel, and washing it down with a warm coffee. Despite it being in the middle of summer, the weather was cold and rather depressing. The city was just waking up, some Muggles crossing the sidewalks, looking half-dead with sleepiness, or carrying briefcases as they talked into their phones.

According to the watch on her wrist, it was around eight in the morning, which meant that she only had three and a half hours before Harry had to go to the place where he would be changing. She didn't understand this, as the transformation didn't start until the moon rose, but maybe Harry just didn't want her to see him like this.

"What'chya thinkin' about, redhead?" a familiar voice pulled her out of her revere. Marcus- Harry's flat mate- was standing above her, holding a cup of coffee as well.

"Nothing in particular," she lied, "I thought that you were with your girlfriend," he shrugged.

"I thought you were with Harry."

"I needed to get out."

"So did I." Marcus replied curtly. "I'm sorry. You just look like you needed someone to talk to." Ginny stared at the partial stranger, and sighed. This was one of Harry's best friends. He had to be okay.

"Alright, maybe I do. I'm just scared for him... you can understand that, right?"

"Of course I can," Marcus said, sitting on the bench beside her, "My girlfriend is going through the same thing. She started to scream at me to leave, she didn't want me to see her like this... so I decided to go back to my flat, where Harry was passed out. You left a note, saying where you were going, so I decided to join you." They sat in silence for a minute.

"This sucks." said Ginny.

"Agreed. But we have to give them their space. That's why I pulled you off of Harry today. Any other time, yes, I would be delighted to see you beat him to a pulp, what he did was stupid. But he's been on edge all week, so I thought that he could've taken a hit at you. This must be rough on you too, though. I mean, you find out one of your friends is living in London too, you're both relieved and pissed to see him, and BOOM, he's a werewolf. And now they have to go to that prison sort of place..." Ginny choked on her coffee.

"Prison?" she spluttered.

"I guess that's a bit of an exaggeration. Brooke and I visited there yesterday. It's in an abandoned hospital, but it doesn't feel right. The doors and walls are charmed so that they can't harm them when they go 'wolf'." Marcus's voice dropped. "My little brother was bitten. I stayed with him until he started to change."

"You can do that?" inquired Ginny, swallowing down the heavy feeling in her throat.

"Technically you can stay however long you want, but even if he did take Wolfsbane potion, there's still the off chance that he could hurt you. The entire transformation- the most painful part- takes about a minute. Before that, it's basically just their sickness intensified. You can probably stay with him for a while after he has to check in- he probably won't say it, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be alone while I was going through something like that. He probably won't say so, but they feel pretty bad, especially during the last few hours.."

"Anything I should know while I'm with him?" she asked, and realized they were walking back to the flat.

"Well, for about two hours before the change, they can't stand bright light, and you have to keep your voice down- all of their senses are intensified. If he tells you to leave, and looks angry, you leave. Don't hesitate, leave. I heard that if it's even an hour before the moon is up, they can start changing out of anger.

He'll want someone he's familiar with with him- My brother has been a werewolf for four years, and even though he's only a year younger, it seemed like me being there made a huge difference. And if you can't do that, talk to him over the phone. They're scared, and they all are fighting against something inside of them they don't understand.

I'll come with you to pick up Harry and Brooke in the morning. They'll be totally exhausted. Don't even talk until they get a few hours of sleep and something to eat. I'd say about twelve hours after they turned back they start feeling better again." Marcus explained.

"D'you think that he'd be okay if his two friends visited him later today?" Ginny asked- they were in front of the apartment now.

"I'd think so. He might be a bit overwhelmed by it all, so make sure to watch him carefully. You don't want him to freak out." They stepped into the empty lobby.

"Hey, Marcus," Ginny stopped him right before he stepped into the elevator.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Any time," he grinned, saluted her, and stepped backwards into the elevator.


End file.
